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Orlando residents Laura Gabaroni and Juan Huergo are asking U.S. and Florida officials to show compassion and allow Carnival's Holland America cruise ships to dock at Port Everglades. They've been stuck onboard for more than two weeks. (April 1)
AP Domestic

He pulled the curtain in his balcony stateroom and could see the lighted glow from Fort Lauderdale’s shoreline off in the distance.

The Hoovers are almost home.

Almost.

“When I walk in the front door of my house, that’s when I will celebrate,” Hoover said and chuckled Thursday morning during a telephone interview with the Democrat. “The fact we are in the northern hemisphere, I am happy.”

Tallahassee couple Ed and Faye Hoover have been in coronavirus limbo for the past two weeks.

They are among the healthy passengers, first on the Zaandam and now on the Rotterdam cruise ship, that will be allowed to dock at Port Everglades Thursday following a conditional agreement with authorities in Florida, according to reports.

Tallahassee residents Faye and Ed Hoover and the cruise ship Zaandam.(Photo: Special to the Democrat)

Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine said on Twitter that a final document would be released Thursday morning. The process of disembarking passengers could last through Friday, officials said.

Ed told the Democrat their luggage was collected Thursday morning by cruise employees and they have received instructions on disembarkation.

That process – once the liner is cleared to dock – will include a health check and custom and immigration checkpoints. The Hoovers are uncertain when they will be cleared to return home in accordance with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Passengers who aren’t sick or showing flu-like symptoms will be escorted off and allowed no contact with the public, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Passengers who live in Florida like the Hoovers will be driven home. Others will take charter flights.

“We are doing fine – we are lucky we get along great,” Faye said and laughed.

“We haven’t had any problems at all and hopefully once we get through all the health checks, we will see what the plan looks like.”

A fleet of cruise ships have been creeping off South Florida’s coast the past few days with nowhere to go as authorities worked on and approved a detailed docking plan.

The Hoovers – in their mid-70s and on their 10th cruise – were among the 1,200 passengers on Holland America’s Zaandam that set sail from Buenos Aires on March 7 and was originally scheduled to end at San Antonio, Chile on March 21.

However, their dream trip was thrown in disarray due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ship had set sail a day before the U.S. State Department advised people to avoid cruise travel and before any substantial restrictions were in place in Florida.

The Zaandam was stranded off the coast of Panama for days after it was not allowed to dock in Chile and other ports along its path. According to media reports, at least four people died on the ship, at least two people tested positive for the coronavirus and dozens were ill with flu-like symptoms.

Faye Hoover.(Photo: Faye Hoover Facebook photo)

The couple and other healthy passengers were transferred to another ship, the Rotterdam, last Sunday. All passengers have been in isolation in their staterooms.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Fox News Thursday morning that “we have a plan to bring cruise passengers to land while keeping Florida safe.” DeSantis explained that foreigners aboard the Zaandam and Rotterdam will be bussed to an airport and put on flights. He said locals will return home with help of the Florida National Guard.

The Hoovers said they have made the best of the situation, watching television, reading books and sitting on their balcony. They credited the cruise line for their professionalism and help. Ed, good-natured and upbeat, said two things the couple and others learned was to book a stateroom with a balcony and purchase cruise insurance.

“I believe this our 14th day in our room; I know it’s double digit (days),” Ed said of their time on the Zaandam and Rotterdam. “We have the television and the internet. Faye always brings enough books to read. But I think I’ve had to read one of my books twice."

While excited to be so close to home, the Hoovers also continue to wait patiently as their journey comes to a close

“I have learned not to get too high or too low,” Ed said. “We’ve been trying to keep an even keel.